What the Current Ebola Outbreak Reveals About Public Health

In this episode of AUB@Work, infectious disease expert Nesrine Rizk explains why the current Ebola outbreak in central Africa is unlikely to become another COVID-like pandemic, but still carries an urgent global warning.

Rizk, head of the Division of Infectious Diseases and associate professor of clinical medicine at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, discusses how Ebola spreads, why this outbreak is especially concerning, and what it reveals about the relationship between disease, conflict, displacement, and fragile health systems.

While Ebola does not spread through the air like respiratory viruses, delayed detection and limited treatment options can make containment far more difficult. The current outbreak involves the less common Bundibugyo strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or targeted treatment, leaving health officials with fewer tools to respond.

The episode also explores the broader lesson behind outbreaks of Ebola, hantavirus, COVID-19, and other zoonotic diseases: in a connected world, the health of one community cannot be separated from the health of another.

In this episode:

Nesrine Rizk explains what Ebola is and how it is transmitted.

She discusses why the current outbreak is alarming despite Ebola’s limited modes of transmission.

She explains how conflict, displacement, and weakened health systems make outbreaks harder to contain.

She reflects on what zoonotic diseases reveal about global vulnerability and shared responsibility.

She argues that protecting communities affected by poverty, conflict, and weak health systems is both a practical public health priority and an ethical obligation.

Featured expert:

Nesrine Rizk

Head, Division of Infectious Diseases

Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine

American University of Beirut Medical Center

Listen to learn why diseases that emerge in one place rarely remain local — and why global health depends on protecting the communities most at risk.